Ben Stokes ridicules ‘injury replacement' debate, Gautam Gambhir hits back: 'Imagine if we had to play with 10 people'

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir and England captain Ben Stokes appear to be at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding the idea of allowing injury replacements in Test cricket. The topic became a hot topic after Rishabh Pant fractured his foot while batting on Day 1 of the Manchester Test and was in no position to keep the wickets. Dhruv Jurel was allowed to keep the wickets as cover for Pant, but the injured star had to come out to bat in pain as no substitution was allowed for injured players. Ben Stokes, Gautam Gambhir differ on injury replacement player debate.(Reuters and PRI Image)
Stokes bluntly ridiculed the idea of injury replacement and suggested that if it came into effect, then the team would start exploring loopholes in it for their benefit.
'I think it is absolutely ridiculous there is a conversation around an injury replacement. There would be too many loopholes for a team to go through. You pick an 11 for the game, injuries are part of it. I think that conversation should be shut down,' said Stokes in the post-match press conference.
'I'm all for injury replacement': Gambhir
On the other hand, Gambhir had a completely different take on this, suggesting there's no harm in permitting injury replacements—as long as the decision is made after a thorough evaluation by the umpires and match referee.
'Absolutely, I'm all for it, if the umpires and the match referee sees and feels that there's a major injury. It's very important to have this rule, where you can get a substitute. That is, if it's very visible, there's nothing wrong in doing that. Especially in a series like this, where it's been such a closely fought series, in the previous 3 Test matches," Gambhir said.
'Imagine if we would have had to play with 10 people, 10 men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us," he added.
A concussion substitute was introduced in the wake of Australian opener Phil Hughes' untimely death in 2014 after being hit on the head but there is no such provision in case of any other serious injury.
Meanwhile, the differing perspectives of two prominent cricket personalities have sparked a renewed debate over the direction Test cricket should take—whether it must adapt to prioritise player safety or risk diluting the essence of the game's traditional format.